Unfortunately, many of our compatriots had to face bugs at least once. The saddest thing is that these blood-sucking insects can be acquired even by the most accurate owners, who spend a lot of time on maintaining the cleanliness of their home. After reading today's article, you will learn how many bugs live without food and how they penetrate into city apartments.
Short description
Those who are interested in how long a bed bug lives will not hurt to find out what this insect looks like. These parasites have a flat elongated body with a triangular head well bounded from it, on which a rather strong and long proboscis is located. The latter is formed due to the fusion of the jaws. Bedbugs pierce human skin.
The size of an adult varies from one to eight millimeters. Initially, the body of the parasites is painted in a dark brown color, which becomes more saturated as a result of the absorption of blood. Insects that have just gone hunting and have not yet had time to eat can be recognized by their light red tint.
Unlike most "wild" relatives, domestic bugs do not have wings. In addition, all bed parasites are divided into subspecies. To date, there are about thirty categories of these insects. And all of them are visually very similar to each other. Differences in their anatomy can only be seen by a professional, and even then - exclusively under a microscope.
Ways to enter the house
First you need to deal with this issue and only then think about how many bugs live. The apartment, which is located in a multi-storey building, it would seem, is not threatened by the invasion of these parasites. But in reality, everything is somewhat different. Residents of megacities also suffer from the bites of these insects that enter the house in several different ways.
One of the most common ways for bedbugs to enter a home is ventilation shafts. These small parasites are able to cover long enough distances and easily crawl through even microscopic slots.
They can also get into the house from the street along with animals. This is especially true for rural housing, as bedbugs often parasitize on rabbits and goats. However, these blood-sucking parasites practically do not live on pigs and cattle, since this creature has too rough skin.
In addition, a person can bring insects on clothes that they got after spending the night in a place infected with bedbugs, or together with purchased furniture. Moreover, parasites can live not only in used sofas, but also in new ones.
Those who do not know how many bugs live will be interested to know that their favorite habitats are the gaps between the floorboards, books, pillows with thick seams, upholstered furniture, window and door frames. In addition to everything else, they often hide under carpets and behind wall-paper that is behind the walls.
The rate of increase in the parasite population
Those who want to figure out how many bugs live without food will be interested to know that their reproduction is carried out by traumatic insemination, during which the male punctures the posterior part of the female body and injects its seminal fluid inside. Under favorable conditions, one individual can lay up to twelve eggs per day and up to five hundred for the entire time of its existence.
Bed bugs living in a warm room can breed throughout the whole year. If the ambient temperature drops to ten degrees, then the parasites are able to starve for five months.
How many bugs live?
The answer to this question has become known relatively recently. The average lifespan of these parasites is from twelve to fourteen months. Under adverse conditions such as excessively low or high air temperatures, they hibernate. It has been established that under such circumstances there is a slowdown in the development of larvae.
Those who want to understand how many bugs live in an empty apartment can be answered that they can last several months longer in cold rooms.
How to identify these insects?
The fact that bloodsucking parasites are wound up in the apartment can be found out by the appearance of the strange smell of low-quality cognac. It is this kind of “aroma” that gives off a secret secreted by adults.
Those who already know how many bugs live should remember that the appearance of brown spots on the bed linen may indicate their presence in the house. Having noticed them, you need to carefully examine the room for signs of insect activity. Also, in potential places of their accumulation there may be remnants of the chitin cover discharged by them.
Bedbug Control Methods
To date, there are many different ways to destroy these small parasites, ranging from ineffective folk methods and ending with the call of specialists from the relevant services.
It should be noted that these blood-sucking insects do not tolerate the smell of essential oils made on the basis of lavender, rosemary and eucalyptus. With these tools, you need to process the places of probable accumulation of bugs. It helps to get rid of parasites in the evening if the bed is treated with one of these oils. They can smear the frame or legs of the bed. However, these funds only scare away bugs, and do not kill them.
Our great-grandmothers fought home parasites with boric acid. This cheap and practically non-toxic agent has contact and intestinal effects on bedbugs. In other words, it dries the body of the insect and corrodes its digestive system. Since pests are indifferent to baits made on the basis of boric acid, it is recommended to use it exclusively in a dry form (fill it with discovered nests).
Some interesting facts
Those who already understand how many bugs live, it will be useful to know that modern science knows about forty thousand species of these insects. Moreover, eight hundred of them are found in Russia.
Bed bugs are so small that it is almost impossible to see with the naked eye. Only a hypersensitive person can feel that someone is crawling on it. Insects themselves do not cause any disease, but they are carriers of organisms that provoke the development of smallpox, hepatitis B and typhoid fever.
A well-fed bug changes its color. From the drunk blood, it turns red. It is interesting that the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt were convinced that the bites of these parasites were the best antidote to snakes.